OrangeShadow
09-20-2005, 11:55 AM
DENVER -- The Denver Broncos clearly aren't playing like champs, but they can thank the Mile High skies that they have a Champ.
Champ Bailey's dislocated left shoulder may not be able to carry the burden of this struggling team long but it sure did Sunday in a weird, wacky 20-17 victory over the rival San Diego Chargers. At the half, the Broncos were down, 14-3, and looked hopeless. Even the loyal Bronco fans started to boo the mistakes and the frustration of an offense that wasn't clicking.
On what Bailey believes was the first pass thrown in his direction, he jumped the route. Chargers receiver Keenan McCardell was running a short hitch route from the Chargers' 23-yard line. Bailey, hanging back in a "Cover 3" zone, read Drew Brees' eyes, picked off the pass and walked in the end zone untouched for a 25-yard touchdown to pull the Broncos within four points.
"That was big, very big," Broncos middle linebacker Al Wilson said. "That's what you've got to do. Big time players step up and make big time plays …"
Bailey doesn't know how long he could go. This much was known, though. Bailey's unstable left shoulder was in much better shape than the Broncos had they lost. Fans were unsettled. Local newspaper columnists have been ganging up on the general manager skills of coach Mike Shanahan since their embarrassing 34-10 opening loss to Miami.
The Broncos started the game with a 13-play drive to the Chargers' 2, but Mike Anderson fumbled. Quarterback Jake Plummer grew more uncomfortable each series against a relentless Chargers blitz and before long, LaDainian Tomlinson had two touchdowns and the Chargers had a 14-3 lead.
Desperation settled into the locker room at halftime. Defensive coordinator Larry Coyer, under pressure himself because of grumbling that he doesn't do a great job communicating a complicated defensive scheme, altered his game plan. The Broncos decided to call all-out blitzes in the second half. These weren't going to be those tricky fire zone blitzes in which one or two defensive tackles drop into coverage. These were the real deals. The coverages were going to be "Cover 0," meaning there would be no safety in the second line of deep defense. Everyone was coming, and that was the plan Coyer installed at the half.
That aggressive play calling set up a perfect opportunity for Bailey to start the second half.
"We knew we had to make something happen," Bailey said. "They were running and throwing all over us and I feel like I had to step up and make something happen. Drew Brees knew what coverage we were in and he didn't expect me to get to that ball. I knew he recognized the coverage. I baited him a little and I just jumped the play."
Suddenly, the Broncos had life, though they still had to overcome self-inflicted wounds. The mistakes were uncharacteristic for a Shanahan team. Heck, a sandlot teams might not have made some of these blunders.
• In the first six minutes of the second half, the Broncos started drives at the Chargers' 37 and 34, but didn't score any points. Jason Elam missed his first of two second-half 53-yard field goals to kill one drive. Plummer was intercepted by free safety Bhawoh Jue to end another.
Champ Bailey's dislocated left shoulder may not be able to carry the burden of this struggling team long but it sure did Sunday in a weird, wacky 20-17 victory over the rival San Diego Chargers. At the half, the Broncos were down, 14-3, and looked hopeless. Even the loyal Bronco fans started to boo the mistakes and the frustration of an offense that wasn't clicking.
On what Bailey believes was the first pass thrown in his direction, he jumped the route. Chargers receiver Keenan McCardell was running a short hitch route from the Chargers' 23-yard line. Bailey, hanging back in a "Cover 3" zone, read Drew Brees' eyes, picked off the pass and walked in the end zone untouched for a 25-yard touchdown to pull the Broncos within four points.
"That was big, very big," Broncos middle linebacker Al Wilson said. "That's what you've got to do. Big time players step up and make big time plays …"
Bailey doesn't know how long he could go. This much was known, though. Bailey's unstable left shoulder was in much better shape than the Broncos had they lost. Fans were unsettled. Local newspaper columnists have been ganging up on the general manager skills of coach Mike Shanahan since their embarrassing 34-10 opening loss to Miami.
The Broncos started the game with a 13-play drive to the Chargers' 2, but Mike Anderson fumbled. Quarterback Jake Plummer grew more uncomfortable each series against a relentless Chargers blitz and before long, LaDainian Tomlinson had two touchdowns and the Chargers had a 14-3 lead.
Desperation settled into the locker room at halftime. Defensive coordinator Larry Coyer, under pressure himself because of grumbling that he doesn't do a great job communicating a complicated defensive scheme, altered his game plan. The Broncos decided to call all-out blitzes in the second half. These weren't going to be those tricky fire zone blitzes in which one or two defensive tackles drop into coverage. These were the real deals. The coverages were going to be "Cover 0," meaning there would be no safety in the second line of deep defense. Everyone was coming, and that was the plan Coyer installed at the half.
That aggressive play calling set up a perfect opportunity for Bailey to start the second half.
"We knew we had to make something happen," Bailey said. "They were running and throwing all over us and I feel like I had to step up and make something happen. Drew Brees knew what coverage we were in and he didn't expect me to get to that ball. I knew he recognized the coverage. I baited him a little and I just jumped the play."
Suddenly, the Broncos had life, though they still had to overcome self-inflicted wounds. The mistakes were uncharacteristic for a Shanahan team. Heck, a sandlot teams might not have made some of these blunders.
• In the first six minutes of the second half, the Broncos started drives at the Chargers' 37 and 34, but didn't score any points. Jason Elam missed his first of two second-half 53-yard field goals to kill one drive. Plummer was intercepted by free safety Bhawoh Jue to end another.